Turkey lift scarf ban in religious institutions

In quite an unexpected development, the Turkish government has lifted ban on wearing of scarves in religious schools of the country. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan while speaking at a news conference in Madrid announced the announcement.

Expressing his views, he said that children reserve the right to choose clothing of their choice and it was a public demand to lift the ban. He reiterated that the government takes all actions keeping in view the desires of public.

The decision will come into effect on from the educational year of 2013-14 during which girl students of other schools will be able to take scarf during Quranic preaching and recitation.

The secular forces in the country were fuelled this year when Erdogan said his goal was to raise a religious youth and the AK Party pushed through a reform of the education system which boosted the role of religious schools.

Erdogan said the reform, which also ends a requirement for pupils to wear uniform, was taken in response to public demand. He noted, “Let’s allow everyone to dress their child as they wish, according to their means. These are all steps taken as a result of a demand.”

Rivalry between religious and secular elites is one of the major fault lines in Turkish public life. Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted AK Party has tamed the influence of the military – the self-appointed guardians of secularism since the modern republic was founded in 1923 – over the past decade, but he denies an Islamist agenda.

Last month the military top brass attended a reception in the presidential palace alongside the headscarved wives of the president and prime minister, something that until recently would have been unthinkable.

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Posted by Web Desk on Nov 29 2012. Filed under World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.